Chapter Four
A STROLL THROUGH THE VILLAGE PEOPLE:
A soft rain began to fall across the land as a downy mist played with the branches of the swaying trees and as the woods began to separate, they reached the foot of a quaint, though habitual village, working away as though nothing had ever happened. To Sam, the town had disappeared and everything had changed…but that went with time travel. It had been many years since she had been "tossed" into parallel universes and needless to say she was used to seeing the town in which she lived designed in many fashions. Ireland never seemed to relinquish that sense of mysticism, however, no matter where she had gone.
"Well, this is it," said Rohan, placing an arm on his hip.
"I'm up at the castle," said Ivar.
Angus mocked him.
"Do you want to wear that face when I sever your head and place it on a pike for all to see?" asked Ivar.
Angus angled his head and smiled. He looked at Sam. "He's such a kidder."
She chuckled. "I'm sure underneath that rich sensibility lays the hidden clown, aching to get out."
"Angus has such a way with words," said Ivar, leaning on his trident. "You wouldn't have known you were talking to a grown man unless you were face to face with him."
"Hey, I resent that," said Angus, straightening.
"I'm not surprised," muttered Ivar.
"C'mon," said Rohan. "We'll stop off at our camp first before we go and see the king." He walked past the village center, the eyes of many maidens watching him as he went. Angus seemed to try catching an eye or two but his efforts were futile.
Ivar looked at Sam. "The king is an old warrior but years of war have not hardened him. He has raised a daughter and she is like her father; neither hard nor soft, always hard to discern. But she is a good friend."
Sam glanced at Ivar. "Why do you tell me this?"
"The only real way for two people of different nations to connect is through the sharing of information. You have brought up your end of the bargain most magnanimously and I thank you. You have taught me many things."
"You appreciate teachers," she said. "You should be commended."
"Are teachers not appreciated in your time?" he asked, worry etching his brow.
This serious concern for education brought unique warmth to Sam's resolve of the knights she had encountered. Warriors they were but not as blind as soldiers. Ivar showed a keen interest and most probably an admiration for education that was so simple yet highly fundamental to living. She reveled in the thought of how the other men in her life were either scornful of their education because they only considered the boring academics aspect or they were ignorant of it at all costs. 'People grow,' she had once thought while sitting on a park bench alone, 'only when they have been taught. The person grows because he has been educated but no one can grow without their teachers.' She smiled softly. "Not as they should be," she said. "But where I had originally come from, the entire education system had began. Ask anyone in the country and they will tell you that the hardest universities are all located in the state of Massachusetts. Not to say that the best education is in one location."
"Education, if I may interject, is only as good as the effort being put into learning from it in the first place." He tilted his head. "The same goes for here, as anywhere."
Sam's smile broadened.
They were standing at the outer edge of Rohan's campsite and Angus seemed to have been busying himself with a gold coin while Rohan went inside briefly.
"Of course," said Ivar loudly. "I may be wrong about education reaching just any where."
Angus glanced up. "What are you saying, that I'm not educated?"
Ivar leaned on his trident. "No, in some ways you are, Angus, educated," he said, using the term loosely.
Angus shrugged and went back to his coin.
"In thievery and greed," said Ivar.
In a split second, Angus was on his feet, inches away from Ivar. "That's…former thief."
"Ah, pay no heed to them," said Rohan, emerging from the hut with several scrolls of parchment tucked under his arm. "Angus is always a bit bitter when someone splashes a little water in his face to wake him up in the morning."
"A little? Ivar dumped the entire ocean on me!"
"Angus," sighed Ivar. "I'm not going to argue with you any longer. You've been an insufferable annoyance ever since I met you but you're still my friend. And as friends, I've learned some things about you. Like how your pranks on others are laughable but as soon as the tables are turned and here you are, drenched in your own undoing, it's unbearable for you to stand. Am I getting warm?"
Angus paused then he looked indignantly. "What?"
"Just admit it, can you? You hate being the butt of a joke. It kills you. It eats through that thick skull of yours," Ivar said, tapping Angus on the head.
"It does not!"
"Then why have you been arguing with me over every little nuance since yesterday?"
"I have not!"
"Have so. In fact, you are right now."
"Gentlemen," said Rohan, coming in between Ivar and Angus. "Now, is it like you two fine fellers to be heading off in such a way, 'specially in front of our guest." He glanced at Sam.
She seemed to not be noticing them…or anything at all. She edged her way past the three knights and began to walk through the village, not necessarily admiring or having any particular interest in the kettle steaming over a campground fire or the middle-aged woman tending to a hole in the stray roof above her hut. Sam could have seen this before. In fact, she had. Shaking herself, she turned back around and walked to the knights. "You said a fairy king showed you all how to get your armor?"
"Yeah," said Angus. They nodded.
She seemed to evolve the words from her mouth. "Do you think…you think he has any knowledge of…he's connected with other realms, yes?"
Rohan frowned. "In a way, I guess. What do you mean?"
"I mean, do you think he talks to angels and demons?"
Rohan paused. He didn't know what to say. King Fin Varra was an enigma even without talking in riddles every time the knights visited Tir Na Nog. But it never really occurred to him that the fairy king could quite possibly have fairy connections in Heaven and Hell. He shrugged.
Angus spoke. "Besides animals, trees, rocks and just about everything else living and not, I don't think it would be too great a leap for the little man."
"Why would he need to talk to angels and demons?" asked Ivar. "I thought you said it was these sentinels you were after?"
"In some cases, angels are just as responsible for everything that's happened. But I want to talk with this king. He may have some advantage that others may not. Can you take me to him?"
The knights glanced at each other. Rohan shrugged. "I…don't suppose we couldn't…. Ow! Angus what was that for?" jumped Rohan, rubbing his arm where Angus had pinched it.
"Can I talk to the two of you…in private?" he asked, glaring at Sam.
They took several steps back and turned around. Angus seemed to be riled up about something. Sam judged he was skeptical about her since they started walking to the village. She was cynical of his past crimes, though inwardly she could have cared less. He possibly saw her as a threat to him because she was seemingly sided with Ivar at the moment.
However, just as Angus turned around to confront her, she stopped him, sensing a dead chill exploding within the village. She looked around, finding no source. Yet, within seconds, there was a scream and villagers began scattering towards their homes. Sam followed the villagers with her eyes and determined the point of all the confusion and chaos.
Temran soldiers had managed to saunter in, fully shielded and armored up to the neck. They were all dirty and stunk of rot and decay but Sam was sniffing the air for more. Fortunately, there was no sulfur in the air. No mark of an immortal presence…yet.
The three knights had scattered apart towards the oncoming soldiers. Rohan looked at Angus, then at Ivar. "Call it."
They lifted their weapons above them and called their armor.
Sam, however, had remained where she stood, eyes transfixed on the soldiers marching forward. She kept her arms at her side, feeling her waistline. She turned to her side, keeping her eyes on the soldier sitting aboard his horse. He was the one that needed to be taken off first. The other soldiers listened to their leader. If they were without a leader, they were vulnerable.
At least twenty soldiers were in her way. The knights came and surrounded the soldiers. Angus took the left flank, Rohan the middle and Ivar the right. Sam stood behind Ivar and Rohan. They began sending charges from their weaponry, which tossed the soldiers back. However, their shields protected them from the worst of the blows. Sam stepped back, crouched then booked it, running through the score of men as though she were an arrow launched from a quivering bow. She was stopped once; however, she ducked just as a mace came swinging at her head. She kicked his gut, elbowed his back and punched his face. He fell, dazed. Sam was still halfway to the officer. He shouted orders, but the men seemed more or less out of order than able to comprehend anything else they were told. She ran, dodging stumbling soldiers, an occasional sword jab and when she reached the officer sitting atop his horse, he looked down at her, smiled with gritted teeth and swung a broad sword her way. She ducked and used this position to launch herself into the air, wings spread and flapping. She was at least a foot above the officer, who now looked as if he saw the devil in her presence, and with one swift kick, she knocked him off his horse. He slid down and collapsed in a heap on the ground. The soldiers did not see that their officer was down. They were still setting up a blockade with their shields against the knights, who were launching everything they had at them. She barely touched her feet on the horse's saddle. She bore no weapon. With one loud call, the soldiers all turned to see their officer had been defeated and in his place was an angel.
Sam knew that look. And she hated it. She was no angel. To prove this, she shouted, "Put down your shields and piss off!"
In one swoop, they chucked down their armory and weapons and ran back through the forests. When they were all behind her, Sam crossed her arms and looked down at the knights. She floated back down and began to tuck in her wings. She stifled a wince. "Take me to the fairy king," she said.
The knights removed their masks. They did not say a word.
However, before Sam could speak, there was an enormous crash and a sonic boom. It was so large, it sent a rippling torrent through the forest and knocked everyone off their feet. The knights and Sam shot up and began looking around for the source. "There!" cried Angus.
They all looked to where he was pointing. A purple bubble seemed to encase the entire village. The people inside were frightened, screaming for their lives. In a flash, the bubble disappeared, taking with it the villagers inside.
"What the…?" said Rohan.
"That…witch!" cried Angus. "She stole the entire bloody village!"
"I…don't know," said Ivar. "I don't think even Maeve could have conjured that much power on her own."
"You're right," said Rohan.
As they talked, Sam stared at the empty village. She knew what was going on because she had seen shadows hovering around the bubble just before all had disappeared. Shadows meant sentinels…sentinels that didn't want to be seen. She sighed. The knights had made the decision to head to the castle as quickly as possible. "The king's not going to believe this," said Rohan.
"He will," said Sam. "And I will be your proof."
